For this article, I interviewed leaders from six of the most active and successful Transition Initiatives in Colorado, including a major city (Denver), a few small and mid-size towns (Manitou Springs, Louisville, and Lyons), a collection of suburbs (Westminster/Arvada/Broomfield), and a university (Naropa), asking questions such as: “What would you say is your proudest accomplishment?” “What has been the most challenging aspect of your Transition work?” “What advice would you give to someone starting a Transition Initiative in their community?” and “What is your vision for the continued growth of the Transition Movement in Colorado?” The following is what I found.

Most of the work that has been done so far by Transition Initiatives in Colorado has been laying the foundation for Transition in these communities: raising awareness about The Long Emergency and Transition, building relationships with individuals, other nonprofit organizations, local businesses, and local government, and hosting practical Reskilling workshops. This is not surprising, as most of these initiatives are only about a year old. The first Transition Initiatives in the UK, which were founded over four years ago, are just now starting to publish their Energy Descent Action Plans, and only one initiative in the United States, Transition Sandpoint in Idaho, has reached the point of hosting a Great Unleashing event and forming working groups.

Nevertheless, many of the accomplishments made by Transition Initiatives in Colorado during this short period of time are actually quite impressive. Transition Louisville has started a Neighborhood Supported Agriculture program, based on Kipp Nash’s Community Roots Urban Farm in Boulder, hosted a solar home tour in the Fall of 2009, and is working towards bringing carsharing to Louisville—among other activities. Together with the Living Earth Center, the Denver Botanic Gardens, and the Mile High Business Alliance, Transition Denver launched the Grow Local Colorado campaign, which this year planted a garden in Denver’s Civic Center Park, passed a citywide Grow Local proclamation, and was honored with the creation of Grow Local Day by Mayor John Hickenlooper on May 14, 2009.

Transition Westminster/Arvada/Broomfield created the first-ever community Permaculture garden in their region and distributed approximately one ton of produce to members of the Broomfield Presbyterian Church, where the garden was based, volunteers, and a local food bank. They are currently planning a second garden at the Crescent Grange in Broomfield in 2010. Transition Lyons inspired their local Chamber of Commerce to run a month-long Buy Local campaign, which will hopefully be expanded into an ongoing program. And, in the Spring of 2009, Transition Naropa initiated a community market on campus that featured local growers, artisans, artists, healers, free bike tune-ups, and live music. While there is, undoubtably, much more that needs to be done to rebuild local resilience and self-reliance in these communities, these pioneering Transition Initiatives should be celebrated for their already-significant contributions.

Whether they recognize it fully or not, Transition leaders everywhere have committed themselves to work that is both extremely inspiring and outstandingly challenging at the same time. Transition Initiatives have placed themselves at the crossroads of the most complex issues of our time – resource depletion, climate change, and economic crisis – and aspire to completely reinvent all of their most fundamental systems – food, energy, economy, health care, transportation, government, education, and culture—from the bottom-up. In order to do this, Transitions needs to be able to reach across traditional political, religious, and socio-economic divides to unite their communities behind a common vision that is very different from the one currently promoted by mainstream media. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that Transition Initiatives and Transition leaders would encounter difficulties during the course of this highly ambitious journey.

Some of the challenges faced by the various Transition Initiatives in Colorado have been not having enough funding and relying too much on volunteer help, leading to burnout of initiating group members; difficulty in reaching a critical mass of awareness and support, particularly in sprawling suburbs such as Westminster/Arvada/Broomfield; a lack of training in effective group facilitation; and dealing with populations that are transient, overly busy, in denial about the magnitude of the social and environmental problems we face, and highly individualistic with competing hidden agendas. None of this is unusual, as these findings are consistent with what was found by researchers at East Anglia University in England in their 2009 survey of the UK Transition Movement—“The Green Shoots of Sustainability”—available for free online here.

Nevertheless, if these issues continue unaddressed, they are unlikely to resolve themselves. There have been many Transition Initiatives in Colorado and around the world that have never managed to get off the ground or, after a period of great enthusiasm, have gone into decline and ceased to exist. An interesting case study of one such initiative is Transition Oxford, who made it all the way to beginning their Energy Descent Action Plan before disbanding. Fortunately, Transition support organizations, such as Transition Colorado and Transition US, are starting to provide valuable tools for both thriving and struggling Transition Initiatives everywhere.

Two particularly bright spots are Transition Colorado’s Transition Times: Colorado Edition, which offers “Information, Insight, and Inspiration for The Long Emergency,” and the free webinars and conference calls currently being offered by Transition US on topics ranging from “The nitty-gritty of getting Transition rolling in your community” to sessions on group decision-making and managing working groups.

The most consistent piece of advice for those considering taking on this work that I received from the Transition leaders I interviewed had to do with “letting it go where it wants to go.” This principle allows an initiative to evolve naturally in response to changing conditions and the energy of the group. It also points to what is commonly referred to as “The Heart and Soul of Transition.” Transition Manitou Springs Initiator Brian Fritz put it this way:

“For me it really isn’t THAT challenging… I just sort of watch where the energy goes (watch the dynamics of the field) and respond appropriately… Because I don’t have a lot of personal attachment to what occurs in my life these days (which doesn’t mean I am not naturally passionate about what I am naturally drawn to), I don’t feel a lot of stress about ‘making it all happen’… AND I do appreciate watching the unfolding that is occurring…”

Transition Denver’s Dana Miller echoed this same realization: “Trust the process, be willing to start small, realize that creating relationships and friendships is the foundation of a successful project… Take the first few steps and see what comes of it. Don’t overplan… We have a wonderful role to play without having all the answers!” This attitude of non-attachment and trusting the process has enabled many Transition leaders to persevere through the uncertain early stages of the Transition process, effectively engage the interests of those who show up, and balance self-care with the overwhelming amount of work that needs to be done in each community.

Another observation that came up again and again in these interviews was that the greatest joy and motivating factor for staying with the Transition process is the deep relationships that are created along the way. In fact, this kind of community is at the very heart of Transition. Donald Studinski of Transition Westminster/Arvada/Broomfield asserted that “If we choose cooperation and work together, then things can actually be BETTER than what we’ve known in our lives thus far. We can have MORE connection to the earth and to each other, deeper more meaningful relationships. It is possible.” And Margaret Emerson, also of Transition W/A/B, emphasized the larger Transition community that is continuing to grow in Colorado and worldwide, weaving a vast web of interconnection:

“What excites me most about Transition is that it is growing so rapidly worldwide, and that so many people are looking for ways to make a difference in their community. I also love the idea of a more localized economy and closer-knit, more resilient community. Having made so many new friends and acquaintances in the last year has certainly increased my optimism and personal happiness.”

Transition is here to stay in Colorado, not only because of the tireless effort of the thousands of people already involved (there are now over 1,300 members of the Transition Colorado social networking site), but also because it meets a real need in our communities. David Greenwald of Transition Louisville mentioned that “When I look deeply at ‘the long emergency’ that we all face, I always come back to resilience and sustainability at the local level as the most credible response. “ This way of thinking is likely to spread like wildfire in the next few years as conditions continue to change. Several of the Transition leaders that I interviewed expressed that they believe we are rapidly approaching a tipping point of awareness and engagement with Transition. Costen Aytes of Transition Naropa speculated that “As economic conditions worsen for people many will come to the movement out of necessity versus prescience. The movement will be re-invigorated.”

Other visions for the Transition Movement in the years ahead included more classes and workshops offering critical leadership skills, including a revision of the two-day Training for Transition to make it more useful for Transition Initiators. Currently, the training is more of an introduction to the Transition concept than anything else, but it could just as easily serve as a vehicle to provide the tools and practice needed to run more successful Transition Initiatives on the ground. Another powerful idea is the establishment of Transition Centers throughout the state and around the world. These centers could serve as markets for local produce, gathering places for those interested in Transition, event spaces for Transition Initiatives and other nonprofit organizations, and much more—the possibilities are only limited by the confines of our imagination. These centers could become powerful focal points for Transition activity and culture in each community in the future.

Taking a broader outlook, Coco Gordon of Transition Lyons suggested that Transition should “honor those who pioneered what came before: Bioregionalists, Permaculturists, our indigenous elders”—to learn from them and collaborate more with these communities. Wherever Transition happens to go in 2010 and beyond, it is important for us all to remember that, in the words of Transition Westmister/Arvada/Broomfield Initiator Donald Studinski: “This is a marathon, the long emergency, it’s not a sprint. Burn out is real. Set a pace you can handle and just keep trying. Know deep in your soul that eventually, things will work out such that Transition is attractive to people.” Best wishes for the entire Transition community in 2010! Thank you for everything you do and keep up the good work!